Wrapping materal with fastener

ABSTRACT

A wrapping material for wrapping an item about its circumference having a plurality of wrapping portions forming a continuous roll. Each wrapping portion has a length that is greater than the circumference of an item to be wrapped with a width that is transverse to its length. Each of the wrapping portions include at least one fastener secured in an area there such that the continuous roll includes a plurality of serially disposed fasteners that are spaced from one another along the continuous roll. Each fastener includes a plurality of engaging elements for engaging a plurality of fiber elements of an underlying or overlying segment of a respective wrapping portion during a wrapping cycle. With this arrangement, the tail end of a respective wrapping portion will be secured by the plurality of engaging elements to the underlying or overlying segment at the end of a wrapping cycle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/288,113, filed Nov. 29, 2005, which claims the benefit of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/517,172 filed May 1, 2007 as a National Stageentry of PCT/IB2004/003475 filed Oct. 22, 2004, the subject matter ofeach of the preceding applications, are hereby incorporated by referencein their entirety herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a variety of wrapping materials, and inparticular, wrapping materials incorporating a fastener, which securesthe tail end of the wrapping material to the fibers of an underlyingportion of the wrapping material at the conclusion of a wrapping cycle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The use of balers for baling agricultural crops into “round” bales(referring to a generally cylindrically shaped bale having a generallyround cross-section) has become increasingly common in recent years,replacing the old system of baling square bales that were secured bydifferent types of twine or metal wire. The first round-balers also usedvarious types of twines to secure the bale, however, over the yearsdifferent types of netting have been used. The use of netting, and inparticular, knitted Raschel netting, has become more and more common.Raschel netting is a knitted netting that typically is made frompolymeric material and includes a plurality of equally spacedlongitudinal ribbons known as “franzes” and a plurality of interveningzigzag ribbons known as “schusses.” However, the netting used, includingRaschel knitted netting, is primarily open, with the franzes andschusses only making up a small percentage of the surface area of thebale and does not protect the bales from rain.

Plastic film wrap, including “sticky film” wrap has been used to wrapwhole bales or portions of bales, with the goal of protecting a balefrom rain.

However, the use of impermeable plastic film wrap does not allowmoisture already within a baled crop to escape there from, since it isbound by an impermeable plastic layer. Since the inherent moisture levelin baled crops may be on the order of one or more dozen percent ofweight of the crop (for example, in baled hay), this bound-in humidityeasily promotes spoilage of the baled crop.

Moreover, when such plastic film has been used in existing nettingsystems, typically only a portion of the bale was covered, leaving partof the circumference unwrapped and exposed to rain and/or to moisturefrom the ground on which the bale is resting. If the entire bale waswrapped with plastic film, then internal moisture could not escape.Likewise, any excess moisture gained by the crop from exposure toweather also promoted spoilage of the baled crop. Since bales are oftenleft in a field, exposed to weather for a year or more, cumulative rainand/or ground moisture penetration may be significant, as may be theresultant crop spoilage.

Another disadvantage of using plastic film as a bale wrap has been thatthe film does not, itself, grasp onto a bale or underlying film layer,and thus a “sticky” portion had to be incorporated to prevent unravelingof the bale. However, use of such sticky film, even if only a smallamount, was difficult to feed into a baler. Reasons for this includethat, in the process of loading the film and wrapping a bale, the stickyfilm stuck to elements of the machine as well, making use of thesematerials difficult. In order to solve the problem of sticky filmsticking to a baling apparatus itself, significant alterations to thebaling apparatus had to have been made, often proving not to becost-effective. The use of VELCRO, or VELCRO-type fasteners for wrappingand closing containers are known, as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,531 tode Silva et al., EP 0 608 871 A2 to de Silva, and Published UK PatentApplication GB 2 221 841 A to Pentith.

Other known wrapping and closing containers, fasteners, and/or balersare also shown by the following (1) U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,331,367, 1,557,881;1,452,100; 2,539,725; 3,056,245; 3,120,727; 3,138,841; 3,623,485;3,654,049; 3,733,769; 3,797,650; 3,816,6700; 4,157,754; 4,318,264;4,333,602; 4,505,424; 4,556,167; 4,679,851; 4,628,709; 4,703,605;4,753,182; 4,775,310; 4,901,855; 5,012,631; 5,111,931; 5,152,125;5,457,855; 6,443,187; 5,732,531; 6,453,805; and 6,425,322, (2) U.S.Patent Application Publication: 2004/0121108, and (3) foreign patentdocuments: FR 398 606; DE 35 25 294 A1; EP 0 233 471 A1; EP 0 324 577A1; GB 2 221 841; WO 90/08708; CA 739.282; EP 1 369 516 A1 DE 198 33 554A1; GB 2 348 633 A; and EP 1 321 028 A1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With the foregoing in mind, the wrapping materials of the presentinvention provide a solution to the problems noted above in the priorart.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a fastener, i.e.,at least one fastener is attached to a woven or non-woven wrappingmaterial. Upon wrapping an item, each fastener cooperates with fiberelements of an underlying or overlying segment of the wrapping materialto engage, lock, hold, or otherwise fasten the wrapping material tightlyaround the circumference of the item being wrapped with the tail end ofthe wrapping material being secured to the corresponding overlying orunderlying segment of the wrapping material.

Each fastener preferably includes, for example, a plurality of small“J”, mushroom, or finger shaped engaging elements, although other shapesmay be used. Each of these engaging elements include an engaging elementbody having an engaging element base at one end and terminating at anengaging element free end for engaging, catching, grabbing, locking,holding, or otherwise fastening to the fiber elements of a correspondingunderlying or overlying segment of the wrapping material. The engagingelement body, from its base to its free end, extends, at angle relativeto a fastener base, a length that is sufficient to allow the free end toengage, catch, grab, lock, hold, or otherwise fasten into fibers of theunderlying or overlying segment of the wrapping material at theconclusion of a wrapping cycle.

Each fastener may be positioned anywhere along the length of thewrapping portion that allows each fastener to carry out its intendedfunction. In some embodiments, for example, the fastener may bepositioned near the tail end area of each wrapping portion of thewrapping material. In other embodiments the fastener may be positionednear the central region of each wrapping portion of the wrappingmaterial. Still, other embodiments may include the fastener positionednear the leading end or other areas of each wrapping portion of thewrapping material.

Each fastener may also be positionally oriented on the wrapping materialwithin an angular range of substantially parallel to the lengthdirection of each wrapping portion to substantially transverse to thelength direction of each wrapping portion. With these arrangements, awide variety of continuous and/or discontinuous areas of connectionbetween each fastener and their respective underlying or overlyingsegment of wrapping material may be realized that would allow finetuning of the connection force and connection area to specific uses,items to be wrapped, and environmental conditions, just to name a few.

The wrapping material of the present invention may be fabricated, forexample, from at least one continuous wrapping component, which may bein the form of either a continuous, single wrapping component or acontinuous, composite wrapping component. The wrapping material of thepresent invention may also be fabricated from at least one of theaforementioned continuous wrapping components in combination with atleast one discontinuous wrapping component, which is different from thecontinuous component. The wrapping material is preferably provided inroll form and comprises a plurality of end-to-end connected wrappingportions each having at least one fastener associated therewith. Eachfastener may be formed, for example, as either a single fastenercomponent or a plurality of co-acting, discontinuous fastenercomponents. The at least one continuous wrapping component is preferablymade from a woven or non-woven material and has a width substantiallyequal to the width of the item to be wrapped and a length sufficient forcovering at least the circumference of the item to be wrapped. The atleast one discontinuous wrapping component is preferably made from abreathable polymeric material having a width substantially equal to thewidth of the item being wrapped and a length for covering at least apart of the circumference of the item being wrapped. In embodimentswhere the wrapping material is fabricated from one of the aforementionedcontinuous wrapping components and without the discontinuous wrappingcomponent, the continuous wrapping component may, preferably, be madefrom the same, or similar, breathable polymeric material as the at leastone discontinuous wrapping component used in other embodiments.

The forgoing specific objects and advantages of the invention areillustrative of those that can be achieved by the present invention andare not intended to be exhaustive or limiting of the possible advantagesthat can be realized. Thus, these and other objects and advantages ofthis invention will be apartment from the description herein or can belearned from practicing the invention, both as embodied herein or asmodified in view of any variation that may be apparent to those skilledin the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are cross-sectional views of hook-type fastenersaccording to the present invention;

FIGS. 1C and 1D are perspective views of the hook-type fasteneraccording to the present invention;

FIGS. 2A-12 are various top views of the wrapping material in accordanceto the present invention;

FIGS. 13A-C are cross-sectional views of the wrapping material looselywrapped around the circumference of an item according to variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13D is a perspective view of the wrapping material during awrapping cycle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-13, andthe corresponding non-limiting examples. Like reference characters anddesignations throughout the figures refer to like elements.

As generally shown throughout FIGS. 2A-13D, the present inventionincludes a wrapping material 100 having at least one wrapping portion110 incorporating at least one fastener 150 for securing both thewrapping portion 110 and the tail end 126 thereof in place around awrapped item I. The wrapping material 100 may form a continuous roll ofwrapping material 100 made from a plurality of wrapping portions 110, atleast two being shown in FIGS. 2A, 2C, 3A, 3C, 10, and 12.Alternatively, the roll of wrapping material 100 may also be formed froma plurality of wrapping portions 110 connected end-to-end to oneanother, i.e., either end-to-end as a single continuous web orend-to-end as a plurality of sequential discontinuous segments securedto one another at respective ends.

Disposed on each of the wrapping portions 110 is at least one fastener150 in the form of a strip, or a collection of strip segments, such thatthe continuous roll of wrapping material 100 has a plurality offasteners 150 serially disposed in an area of each of the plurality ofwrapping portions and spaced from one another. Each wrapping portion 110includes a fastener 150 within that area. As shown in FIGS. 2A-9 and13A, for example, each fastener 150 may be disposed in the vicinity 125of the tail end 126 of each wrapping portion 100. Alternatively, asshown in FIGS. 10 and 11A-D, each fastener 150 may also be disposed inan interior region of each wrapping portion 110 that is remote from boththe leading end 124 and the tail end 126. With either arrangement, eachfastener 150, upon wrapping an item I, will engage, catch, grab, lock,hold, or otherwise fasten into the fiber elements of the underlying oroverlying portion 112 of the wrapping portion 110, thereby securing thewrapping portion around the item I as well as the tail end 126 to theunderlying or overlying portion 112.

As shown in FIGS. 1A-1D, each fastener 150 include a fastener base 152and a plurality of small “J” shaped, or mushroom shaped, or fingershaped engaging elements 154. Each of the plurality of engaging elements154 are secured to the fastener base 152 at a respective engagingelement base 154 a. Each engaging element 154 extends away from thefastener base 152, at a general angle .theta. in a range of about 15degrees to about 90 degrees, relative to the fastener base 152, along atleast a portion of an engaging element body 154 b at a lengthL.sub.body. The length L.sub.body of the engaging element 154 b, for theembodiments shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, is within a general range of about 0.1mm to about 10 mm, preferably, in a range of about 0.1 mm to about 1 mm,and more preferably, in a range of about 0.1 mm to about 0.5 mm, andterminating in the free end 154 c. The length L.sub.body of the engagingelement body 154 b, for the embodiment shown in FIG. 1D, is within ageneral range of about 3 mm to about 20 mm, and more preferably, in arange of about 8 mm to about 12 mm. For the FIG. 1D embodiment, thelength L.sub.base of the engaging element base 154 a is also in a rangeof about 3 mm to about 20 mm, and more preferably, in a range of about 8mm to about 12 mm. With the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, theengaging elements 154 extend from the fastener base 152 generally at anangle of about 90 degrees relative to the fastener base, although theangle .theta. can vary. With the embodiment shown in FIG. 1D, each ofthe engaging elements 154, preferably, extends away from the fastenerbase 152 at an angle .theta. in a range of about 15 degrees to about 45degrees. The length of the engaging element base 154 a for theembodiments of FIGS. 1A-1C, however, is substantially the thickness, ordiameter, of the engaging element body near the fastener base 152. FIG.1A shows the engaging elements 154 as a “J” shape. FIGS. 1B and 1C showsthe engaging elements 154 as having a mushroom shape. It should beunderstood that the engaging elements 154 may be of any shape thatallows them to sufficiently carry out their intended function ofgrasping the fiber elements of an underlying or overlying portion 112 ofthe wrapping material 100 to secure both the wrapping portion 110 arounda wrapped item I and the tail end 126 to the underlying or overlyingportion 112. Each fastener 150 may be disposed either near the tail end126 or within an interior region of each wrapping portion 110 of thewrapping material 100 and positioned in any angular orientation relativeto either the length direction, shown as arrow A in FIGS. 2A-12, of thewrapping material 100 or the width direction, shown as arrow B in FIGS.2A-12, of the wrapping material 100. Upon completion of a wrappingcycle, a wrapping portion 110, which is wrapped around the item. I in aself-overlapping manner, as shown in FIGS. 13A-D, is secured to itselfvia the engaging, grabbing, locking, or fastening, interaction of thesmall engaging elements 154 with the fiber elements of a respectiveunderlying or overlying segment 112 of the wrapping portion 110. Theengaging action of the plurality of engaging elements 154 fasten, lock,grab, or otherwise secure the tail end 126 of each wrapping portion 110securely in place as well as securing the wrapping portion 110, itself,tightly around the circumference of the wrapped item I.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2A-11D and 13A-13C, the wrappingmaterial 100 is formed as composite wrapping material 100 that includesa continuous netting component 120, a discontinuous, breathable materialcomponent 130, and at least one fastener 150. The netting 120 of thewrapping material 100 is preferably woven and may, preferably, take theform of a single continuous web of netting. Ideally, a suitable nettingmaterial may be any woven, preferably unraveling resistant, materialwith sufficient longitudinal (length direction A) and lateral (widthdirection B) strength to hold the wrapping material 100 in place aroundan item to be wrapped, and that allows attachment, via an adhesive orother suitable connection means, of the breathable material panels 130and the fasteners 150 with minimal difficulty.

The breathable material 130 may include a non-woven material or film,such as, for example, fused polyethylene material (e.g., Tyvek®), SMS(styrene/alpha-methylstyrene), spun bound materials, melt blownmaterial, micro perforated film, multi-layer breathable sheets, or thelike. Each of the breathable material component 130 allow water vapor toescape from the wrapped item, and prevents condensation or moisture fromgetting to the wrapped item I from the outside. The breathable materialcomponents 130 may be formed into a plurality of discontinuous panels,though at least two such panels 130 are illustrated in FIGS. 2A, 2C, 3A,3C, and 10, it should be understood that any number of such panels 130are adhered to the continuous web of netting 120 in a substantiallyrepeating pattern throughout its length. The breathable material panels130 are spaced along the continuous netting material 120 at pre-selectedintervals, which relate to a circumference of an item I to be wrapped.The overall width of the breathable materials 130 is substantially equalto a width of the item I to be wrapped. The breathable panels 130 may besecured to the netting component 120, via any suitable adhesive, at anydesired location. FIGS. 2A-4 show the breathable panels 130 positionedapproximately in the central area of each wrapping portion 110, althoughthe breathable panels 130 may be positioned any where along the lengthof the wrapping portion 110. FIGS. 2C and 3C show the breathable panels130 in an alternative arrangement, in which the breathable panels 130are positioned near the tail end 126 of each wrapping portion 110 of thewrapping material 100.

As shown in FIGS. 2A-6, 10, and 11A-D, each breathable panel 130 maycomprise a single sheet of breathable material having variousgeometrical shapes. The shape of the breathable panel 130, as shown inFIGS. 2A-4, 10, and 1A-D may be generally rectangular, whereas thebreathable panel 130 may also be made in various other shapes, such as,for example, the shapes shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Further, the breathablepanel 130 may also be made from a collection, or plurality, of smallerbreathable sub-panels 130′, such as, for example, the sub-panels 130′shown in FIGS. 7-9. When wrapped around an item I, the sub-panels 130′of the wrapping portion 110, collectively co-act with one another toform a breathable panel 130 having a width and length as previouslydiscussed. It should be noted that any of the single panels 130 can besubstituted with a plurality of sub-panels 130′ that, which wrappedaround an item I co-act together to form a single panel. In arrangementsutilizing sub-panels 130′, each fastener 150 used therewith may take theform of the previously described single continuous fastener strip orplurality of discontinuous fastener strip segments, which may also bedisposed on either, or both, of the continuous component 120 and/or thediscontinuous components 130 and/or 130′ of the composite wrappingmaterial 100.

As shown in FIG. 12, the wrapping material 100 is fabricated from acontinuous, single or composite wrapping component 120′, which does notinclude the use of the discontinuous wrapping components 130, 130′, asutilized in the embodiments of FIGS. 2A-11D. In this embodiment, thecontinuous wrapping component 120′ is formed from either a continuous,single sheet or a plurality of discontinuous sheets secured togetherend-to-end to form a continuous composite wrapping components 120′.Regardless of whether the continuous wrapping components 120′ isutilized as a continuous, single wrapping component or a continuous,composite wrapping components, each wrapping portion 110, nonetheless,includes a fastener 150 in the same manner as previously discussed withrespect to the other embodiments or further discussed hereinafter.

The fasteners 150, as shown throughout the figures, may be positioned(1) in the vicinity 125 of the trailing end 126, (2) remote from theleading edge 124 and the trailing edge 126 of each wrapping portion 110;or (3) in the vicinity of the leading edge 124. The fastener base 152 ofeach fastener 150 is secured by any suitable means, such as, forexample, an adhesive, to the single continuous component 120′ of thewrapping material 100, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13D, or to either one orboth of the continuous component 120 and the discontinuous component130, or sub-components 130′, as shown in FIGS. 2A-11 and 13A-D. Eachfastener 150 may also be positionally oriented on the wrapping material100 within an angular range from substantially parallel to either of thelength direction (arrow A) or width direction (arrow B) of the wrappingmaterial 100 to substantially transverse to the length direction (arrowA) or width direction (arrow B) of the wrapping material 100. With thesearrangements, a wide variety of continuous and discontinuous areas ofconnection between each fastener 150 and the respective underlying oroverlying segments 112 of the wrapping material 100 may be realized thatwould allow for fine tuning of the connection force and connection areato specific uses, items to be wrapped, and environmental conditions, toname a few. As the item I is being wrapped the plurality of engagingelements 154 will mesh, engage, or interact with the fiber elements ofany underlying or overlying segment 112 of the wrapping material 100,thereby locking the tail end 126 in place and securing the wrappingportion 110 around the circumference of the wrapped item I. It shouldalso be noted that when sub-panels 130′ are utilized, a collection offasteners 150 may also be disposed and positioned thereon in the samemanner discussed above.

FIGS. 13A-C illustrate cross-sectional ans perspective views of awrapped item I in accordance with various embodiments of the invention,which, for the sake of understanding, show wrapping portions 110 looselywrapped around an item I. FIG. 13D, on the other hand, illustrates aperspective view of a wrapped item I near the end of a wrapping cycle.As shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, when the breathable material, ordiscontinuous components, 130 is, or are, mounted on a face of thenetting material, or continuous component, 120 is placed against theitem I, what is essentially a first layer of netting will contact theitem I at a first level. This contacting netting corresponds to a firstwrapping layer and may comprise slightly more or less than one completecircumference of a wrapping, as desired, around the item I. Above thislayer is the discontinuous breathable material component 130, 130′forming a second wrapping layer, and above the second layer a thirdlayer of netting material 120 is formed from a continuation of the samecontinuous netting material component 120 that formed the first wrappinglayer. Each fastener 150, which has, for example, been attached toeither the continuous component 120 or discontinuous component 130,130′, will be pressed into contact, or otherwise interact, with anunderlying or overlying segment 112, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, ofthe continuous netting material components 120. It is this contact thatallows the plurality of engaging elements 154 of each fastener 150 toengage, catch, grab, lock, hold, or otherwise fasten the fiber elementsof the underlying or overlying segment 112 of the wrapping material 100.The interaction between the plurality of small engaging elements withthe fiber elements of the respective underlying or overlying segments112 allows the fasteners 150 to engage, catch, grab, lock, hold, orotherwise fasten the wrapping material 100, as a whole, tightly aroundthe wrapped item I with the tail end 126 secured as previouslydiscussed.

With specific regard to the embodiment shown in FIG. 13D, the wrappingmaterial 100 specifically utilizes the fastener 150 shown in FIG. 1D,the finger-like engaging elements 154 are sufficiently resilient so asto raise above the engaging element base 152 to engage, catch, grab,lock, hold, or otherwise fasten to the fibers of the wrapping materialcomponent 110 in place around the item 1. As discussed above, each offinger-like engaging element bodies 154 b, as shown in FIG. 1D, areangled away from the fastener base 152 an angle .theta. in a preferredrange of about 15 degrees to about 45 degrees.

As shown in FIG. 12, the wrapping portion 110 is comprised of the singlebreathable material 120 that may comprise slightly more than onecomplete circumference of a wrapping, as desired, around the item I toallow for fastener interaction with an underlying or overlaying segment112. Each fastener 150, which has, for example, been attached thereto,preferably in either (1) in the vicinity 125 of the trailing end 126, asshown in FIGS. 12 and 13D, or (2) remote from the leading edge 124 andthe trailing edge 126, not shown, of each wrapping portion 120′, will bepressed into contact with an underlying or overlying segment 112 of thesingle continuous breathable component 120′. Just as in the compositewrapping material 100 of other embodiments, such contact allows theplurality of engaging elements 154 of each fastener 150 to engage thefiber elements of the underlying or overlying segment 112 of thewrapping material 100. The interaction between the plurality of engagingelements with the fiber elements of the respective underlying oroverlying segments 112, allows the fasteners 150 to engage, lock, hold,or otherwise fasten the wrapping material 100, as a whole, tightlyaround the wrapped item I with the tail end 126 secured as previouslydiscussed.

It should be emphasized that the wrapping material of the presentinvention is not limited only to the specific material or specificdimensions, and has applications for preparation of all wrappingmaterial, taking into consideration the desirable qualities of eachmaterial and the purposes for which the items are being wrapped.

Although illustrative embodiments have been described herein in detail,it should be noted and understood that the descriptions and drawingshave been provided for purposes of illustration only and that othervariations both in form and detail can be added thereupon withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. The terms andexpressions have been used as terms of description and not terms oflimitation. There is no limitation to use the terms or expressions toexclude any equivalents of features shown and described or portionsthereof.

1. A bale wrapping for use in an automated baling apparatus for theforming and securing of agricultural produce into a substantiallycylindrically-shaped bale, said bale wrapping comprising: a wrappingmaterial having a length dimension at least equal to the circumferenceof a bale to be wrapped and a width dimension substantially equal to thewidth dimension of a bale to be wrapped; wherein, the bale wrappingmaterial: (a) is sufficiently liquid impermeable to provide thecircumferential extremity of the agricultural produce with a waterimpervious barrier between the wrapped agricultural produce and baleexterior surface; (b) possesses a stiffness sufficient to ensure thatthe bale wrapping travels intact into and through the automated balingapparatus; and (c) possesses sufficient strength to secure and maintainthe integrity of the bale.
 2. The bale wrapping of claim 1, furthercomprising a fastener for securing a wrapped bale, said fastener adaptedto attach a first portion of the bale wrapping to a second portion ofthe bale wrapping.
 3. The bale wrapping of claim 2, wherein said firstportion is a tail portion of the bale wrapping.
 4. The bale wrapping ofclaim 2, wherein said fastener is one of J-shaped and mushroom-shaped.5. The bale wrapping of claim 1, wherein the agricultural produce iscotton.
 6. The bale wrapping of claim 1, wherein said bale wrapping isvapor permeable.
 7. The bale wrapping of claim 1, wherein its length isgreater than its width.
 8. The bale wrapping of claim 1, wherein saidbale wrapping is capable of preventing undesirable unraveling aftersecuring the agricultural produce into a substantially cylindrical bale.9. The bale wrapping of claim 1, further comprising indicators to permitthe bale to be seen from a distance.
 10. A baled agricultural product inwhich agricultural produce is formed and secured by a wrapping material,said product comprising: a wrapping material having a length dimensionat least equal to the circumference of the bale and a width dimensionsubstantially equal to the width dimension of the bale; agriculturalproduce formed into a substantially cylindrical shape with itscircumferential extremity covered by the wrapping material and its twoopposite substantially circular sides substantially uncovered by thebale wrapping; wherein the wrapping material that covers thecircumferential extremity of the produce, secures the bale, possessessufficient strength to maintain the integrity of the bale, maintains theagricultural produce in a compressed state, and provides thecircumferential extremity of the agricultural produce with a waterimpermeable barrier from the exterior surface of the bale wrapping. 11.The baled agricultural product of claim 10, wherein said wrappingmaterial further comprises a fastener for securing the wrapped bale,said fastener adapted to attach a first portion of the wrapping materialto a second portion of the wrapping material.
 12. The baled agriculturalproduct of claim 11, wherein said first portion of the wrapping materialis a tail portion of the wrapping material.
 13. The baled agriculturalproduct of claim 11, wherein said fastener is one of J-shaped andmushroom-shaped.
 14. The baled agricultural product of claim 10, whereinthe agricultural produce is cotton.
 15. The baled agricultural productof claim 10, wherein said wrapping material is water impermeable andvapor permeable and said wrapping material provides the circumferentialextremity of the agricultural produce with a covering that is waterimpermeable and vapor permeable.
 16. The baled agricultural product ofclaim 10, wherein said wrapping material secures said agriculturalproduct in part by preventing its undesirable unraveling.
 17. The baledagricultural product of claim 10, further comprising indicators topermit the bale to be seen from a distance.
 18. The baled agriculturalproduct of claim 10 wherein said wrapping material possesses a stiffnesssufficient to ensure that the bale can withstand the operation of anautomated baler.
 19. A roll of bale wrappings suited for forming andsecuring agricultural produce into a plurality of substantiallycylindrically-shaped bales through the use of an automated balingapparatus, the roll comprising: a plurality of bale wrapping portions,each bale wrapping portion having a length dimension at least equal tothe circumference of each bale to be formed and secured and a widthdimension approximately equal to the width of each bale to be formed andsecured, said plurality of bale wrapping portions being seriallyconnected and rolled to form said roll; wherein each bale wrappingportion for covering the circumferential extremity of the agriculturalproduce is water impermeable to provide the circumferential extremity ofthe baled produce with a water impermeable barrier from the balewrapping exterior surface; and wherein said the bale wrapping portionspossess a stiffness sufficient to ensure that each bale wrapping portiontravels intact into and through an automated baling apparatus.
 20. Theroll of bale wrappings of claim 19, wherein each bale wrapping furthercomprises a fastener for securing a wrapped bale, said fastener adaptedto attach a first portion of the bale wrapping to a second portion ofthe bale wrapping.
 21. The roll of bale wrappings of claim 20, whereinsaid first portion is a tail portion of each of the bale wrappings. 22.The roll of bale wrappings of claim 20, wherein said fasteners are oneof J-shaped and mushroom-shaped.
 23. The roll of bale wrappings of claim19, wherein the agricultural produce is cotton.
 24. The roll of balewrappings of claim 19, wherein each of said bale wrapping portions iswater impermeable and vapor permeable.
 25. The roll of bale wrappings ofclaim 19, wherein each of said bale wrapping portions secures saidagricultural produce in part by preventing undesirable unraveling of thebale wrapping portion.
 26. The roll of bale wrappings of claim 19,wherein each bale wrapping portion further comprises indicators topermit the wrapped bale to be seen from a distance.
 27. The roll of balewrappings of claim 19, wherein each of said bale wrapping portions hassufficient longitudinal strength to secure the substantiallycylindrically-shaped bale of agricultural produce.